The present invention generally relates to a medical table assembly, and more particularly relates to a medical table assembly having a restrainment apparatus mounted thereto.
Many medical procedures are performed with a patient lying on a medical table. Typically, the medical table on which the patient is lying is made from a very hard and uncomfortable material. Moreover, many medical procedures require the patient to be minimally clothed and may take a significant amount of time to complete. Therefore, the patient lying on the table can become very uncomfortable (e.g. cold, or hot if the patient is suffering from a fever), which increases the stress he or she experiences during the medical procedure.
Additionally, it often becomes necessary to adjust the patient's position on the medical table from a first position to a second position in order to successfully complete the medical procedure. For example, patients undergoing a colonoscopic medical procedure are frequently moved from a supine position (i.e. denoting a body when lying face upward) to a lateral position (i.e. denoting a body when lying on its side) to facilitate the advancement of an endoscope to a patient's colon. Furthermore, other medical procedures, such as radiographic imaging studies, may require a patient to be moved from a supine position to a prone position (i.e. denoting a body when lying face downward).
The movement of a patient lying on a medical table from a first position to a second position has heretofore largely depended upon a great deal of physical effort being exerted by attending medical personnel. For example, to move a patient positioned in a supine position to a prone position typically requires attending medical personnel to pull or tug a bed sheet on which the patient is lying so as to gradually move the patient toward an edge of the medical table. As the patient is moved toward the edge of the medical table, other medical personnel lift and push the patient's shoulder which is closest to the edge, in a direction opposite to the direction the bed sheet is being pulled. The simultaneous pulling of the bed sheet in one direction, while the patient's shoulder is lifted and pushed in the opposite direction, rolls the patient over from a supine position to a prone position.
One disadvantage of repositioning the patient in the above described manner is that the involved medical personnel are prone to injuries resulting from the pulling or tugging of the bed sheet. For example, they sometimes suffer from sprained wrists or backs that occasionally result in incurring some degree of disability. This is especially true when the patient is a large adult. Another disadvantage is that the pulling or tugging of the bed sheet causes the patient to be moved in a "jerking motion." This jerking motion can be extremely uncomfortable, or even dangerous to the patient depending upon the type of illness of the patient (e.g. osteoporosis or arthritis).
Under certain circumstances, the patient must be restrained on the medical table after adjustment to an appropriate position. Various types of restrainment apparatus are used to secure the patient to the medical table. Heretofore, these restrainment apparatus typically include one or more straps attached to the medical table and a buckle attached to each strap. Each strap is positioned relative to the patient such that one end thereof encircles one of the patient's limbs (e.g. an arm or a leg). The buckle and strap are then manipulated so that the strap fits snugly around the patient's limb, thereby restraining the patient to the medical table. To release the patient from the medical table the attending medical personnel must manipulate each buckle and strap again to loosen the strap from around the patient's limb.
One disadvantage of the above described restrainment apparatus is that the required manipulation of the buckle and strap to tighten and loosen the strap from around the patient's limb is inconvenient and time consuming for attending medical personnel. This inconvenience can be dangerous for the patient in situations where he or she must be quickly released from the medical table prior to the administration of emergency medical care. This inconvenience can also be dangerous for the medical personnel and the patient in situations (e.g. a violent patient) where the patient must be quickly restrained on the medical table.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a medical table assembly having a restrainment apparatus that allows a patient to be secured thereto in a quick and efficient manner. It would also be desirable to provide a medical table assembly having a restrainment apparatus that allows a patient to be released therefrom in a quick and efficient manner. It would further be desirable to provide a medical table assembly having a restrainment apparatus that easily adjusts and conforms to different size limbs.